Hero’s welcome as refugee Olympians land in Kenya
NAIROBI, Kenya – Five South Sudanese athletes who have spent the last few weeks making history as part of the first-ever Refugee Olympic Team returned to Kenya on Tuesday, where they were welcomed by friends, family and a troupe of Burundian drummers. The homecoming...
Rohingya refugees lead cricket revival in Ireland
CARLOW, Ireland – A rarely heard sound is returning to the Irish countryside – the dull thud of leather against willow. Cricket, the game that unites players from the Caribbean to South Asia and Australia, can once again be heard in the small town of Carlow, in the...
Funding lags for refugees as more flee South Sudan
Relief operations in countries hosting South Sudanese refugees are overstretched, and critically underfunded, as refugee population edges toward 1 million. ADJUMANI, Uganda – When gunmen stormed her village in South Sudan, shooting at random and harassing residents,...
Popole makes history – twice – at Rio Games
Congolese judoka wins hearts among fellow refugees and Brazilians with tough story of triumph over adversity. RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – When Popole Misenga’s image appeared on the giant television screen, the waiting crowd exploded in delight. Shouts, songs and chants...60,000 flee South Sudan’s recent violence
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Melissa Fleming—to whom quoted text may be attributed—at the press briefing, on 2 August 2018, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. Refugee flows from South Sudan into Uganda have doubled in the past ten days,...
Hundreds suffer at Hungary-Serbia border
RÖSZKE, Hungary – Sayed Parwez Ahmadi looks concerned as he puts another twig on the fire burning in front of their family tent in the makeshift camp near Röszke on the Hungary-Serbia border. His wife, brother and two cousins pull closer to the flames, as the...
Refugee athletes set to leave for Rio Olympics and history
NAIROBI, Kenya—Amid tears of joy, farewell hugs and songs of encouragement a group of smiling young refugee African athletes flew out of Nairobi today bound for the Rio Olympics in Brazil and an appointment with history. Five middle-distance runners from South Sudan,...
Flight is familiar for some South Sudan families
ADJUMANI, Uganda—Lucy Lul says she realised war was coming when she heard there was a convoy of vehicles on the road from Juba, the capital of South Sudan, to Uganda. She and her husband packed a bag with their children’s clothes, she grabbed her handbag and they ran...